ECKENRODE RESEARCH IN GERMAN
In 1743, two men we associate with the names Eckenrode and Eckenroth arrived in Pennsylvania. One was known as Johann and the other as Heinrich. The big question: where did they originate? We know they were German, but where in Germany.
I will first consider Johann, the man who settled in Lynn Township, Northampton County, now Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
The church records of St. Jakob in the town of Heddisheim, Germany list some Eckenroths and are on film at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Trudy Shenk, a genealogist in Utah and specialist in Wuerttenburg believes that these are the correct ancestors. She did the original research for an Eckenrode researcher in Hawaii. I reviewed the film which is as follows. I have used German style genealogical notations (* means birth; + means death; oo means marriage; o/o means divorce; and ~ means baptism),
This is what I found: The first Eckenroth to appear in the church books was Christian.
MARRIAGE
Christian Ekenroth oo Maria Brader
Zimmerman (carpenter) 20.1.1711
s.v. Johann of Brühl t.v. Nicolai of Grolsheim
& Catherine & Maria
Witnesses: Stephan Brader of Grolsheim
Peter Landan, Zimmerman (carpenter)
BIRTH
~18 Oct 1711 Catherine Eckenroth + 16 Apr 1714
~2 Aug 1716 Nicolas Eckenroth + 10 Apr 1727
~13 Aug 1719 Joanne Peter
~18 Jan 1722 Adolph + 31 Dec 1726
~ (p. torn) 1723 Heinric Eckenroth
~30 Mar 1727 Tobius Carol
Other children may have been born and recorded in another church. Example – Johann himself.
MARRIAGE
Christian Eckenroth, widower oo Ann Veronica
17 Apr 1742 (other info. diff. to read)
Witnesses: Johann Eckenroth & Peter Eckenroth
Johann Eckenroth oo Margaret Saurach
9 Nov 1734
S.v. Christian & A. Maria T.v. Johann Saurach
BIRTH
*13 Sep 1735 Peter
*1 Jan 1741 Johann
One could assume that Johann who married Margaret Saurach could also be the same person who witnesses Christian’s marriage. The name Johann was quite popular and usually prefixed most male names during this time period. The same as Ann and Maria prefixed most female names.
Although there were more Eckenroths recorded, they are not listed here. The possibility of Johann and Margaret being the same persons as our immigrant ancestors is very good. The most important bit of information in support of this hypothesis is the age of their children. It is often assumed that Heinrich was the oldest child of Johann and Margaret. This assumption is based on the settlement of Johann estate. Johann Eckenroth was plowing his fields and was killed by Indians. The date was 28 Apr 1757. His estate was not settled until after Peters death. When Johann’s estate was settled by his son Heinrich, he states that he is the oldest child of Johann & Margaret. His statement is correct because the oldest son, Peter, died sometime between Feb 1767 and Mar 1768. A daughter was born 2 Dec 1767 and was baptized 19 Mar 1768. The record of baptism states that Eva Mary is the daughter of the late Peter Eckenroth and his wife Elizabeth Margaret.
THE SEARCH FOR THE ANCESTORS OF HEINRICH ECKENROTH
One day while on vacation and having been researching in the Schloss in Brühl, I went south along the Rhein and stopped in Konigswinter. Not being able to stop anywhere without a visit to the local library, I questioned about the name of Eckenroth. I was advised that I should go north to Siegen. Finding the local train, I went there and was able to locate the name, but time prevented any reasonable research, so I turned to the LDS and FHL when I returned home.
After spending many days in the Family History Library in Salt Lake, Utah, I believe I may have found the correct family. If it is not, it seems to be very close.
The area I concentrated on was Beuel, which is a district of Bonn and located on the east side of the Rhein River. Note how close the area name Beuel is to the Christian Eckenroth, Heddisheim, place of origin. I did find some Eckenroths in Brühl, but I did not find a connection and the same for Konigswinter (FHL film 187173). The following is copied and pasted from Wikipedia:
In 1969, the independent towns of Bad Godesberg and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before. Bad Godesberg and Beuel became districts (Stadtbezirke) of Bonn with some independence and populations of about 70,000 each. Each district has its own quarters:
The town is Küdinghoven, located in Beuel, a district of Bonn and the film number is 187078. Tauf Buch 1721-1887.
P.49, 1737
~28 Jan Joes Andreas, s.v. Henri Ucherath & Elisabetha
Patrini: Andreas Curtius & Margaretha Heyders ex Oberdollendorff
P53, 1738
~11 May Simon, s.v. Henri Uckerath & Elizabeth Metz
Patrini: Simon Uckerath & Christina Lohmar
P.64, 1740
~15 May Joës Georgius, s.v. Henrici Uckerath & Elizabetha
married from Holtorff
Patrini: Joës Georgius Kurth
Matrinia: Ann Sibyllia Uckerath
P.72, 1942
~24 Feb Joës Petrius,
s.v. Henrieci Uckerath ex Elisabetha felders
Patrinus: Joës Petrus Busch
Matrina: Christina Fings or Lings
The names of Henry and Elisabeth are in his will. The town they lived in or nearby was Elizabethtown. He could have come to America and started a town and named it for his wife. Also his signature was Öckenroth or Ückenroth.
HENRY ECKENROTH OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
In the Berks County History & Genealogy Book, there is a Henry Eckenroth living in Reading and it has a record of his family. The father of Henry was Jacob and his father Zacharius. In the church records of Kudinghoven, there is a man Jacob Uckerath. This man could possibly be a relative to Henry. A near relative, with the same name, could have come to America at a later date.
Also it is noteworthy that some of the names in the tauf book are similar to the ones we encounter in our ancestors area of Pennsylvania: Klein, Lutz, Schmitz, and Arents.
This research is not a definite match, but worth consideration in digging up our roots.
Mary Lou Moss Godleski, Milton, MA, litgenie@aol.com